1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a needle attachment and detachment assist device for use in attaching a needle member of a syringe unit used for a dispenser to a syringe or detaching the same from the syringe.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows an example of an application device which applies a conductive resin A to a workpiece W. An example of the workpiece W is a head gimbal assembly used in a hard disk drive. In the case of the workpiece W, for the mounting of an actuator element B, the conductive resin. A such as silver paste having relatively high viscosity is used. The conductive resin A is one example of a liquefied or paste-like fluid.
The application device 1 comprises a movable stage 2, a drive mechanism 3, a lifting stage 4, a lift mechanism 5, a stage controller 6, a dispenser 7, and the like. The movable stage 2 can hold a plurality workpieces W arranged at a predetermined pitch. The drive mechanism 3 moves the movable stage 2 in the direction indicated by arrow M1. The lifting stage 4 is vertically movable. The lift mechanism 5 moves the lifting stage 4 in the direction indicated by arrow M2. The dispenser 7 ejects the conductive resin A toward an application target portion in the workpiece W.
The dispenser 7 is constituted of a syringe unit 10, a metering section 11, an air supply source 12, a control unit 13, and the like. The metering section 11 supplies a specified amount of conductive resin A to the syringe unit 10. The syringe unit 10 includes a syringe 15, and a needle member 16 attached to a lower end of the syringe 15. The conductive resin A supplied to the syringe 15 is discharged from a distal end of the needle member 16 toward the workpiece W.
The needle member 16 includes a luer-lock-type removable joint 18. The needle member 16 is fixed to the syringe 15 via the joint 18. The luer-lock-type joint 18 includes a thread portion formed at an end portion of the syringe 15, and a convex portion formed on the needle member 16. As the convex portion is screwed into the thread portion of the syringe 15, the needle member 16 is fixed to the syringe 15. An example of the luer-lock-type joint is disclosed in JP 2002-85560 A (Patent Literature 1) or JP 2013-517920 A (Patent Literature 2).
The syringe 15 and the needle member 16 are coupled to each other via the luer-lock-type joint 18. When the high-viscosity conductive resin A, for example, is used, the conductive resin A is supplied to the syringe unit 10 at high pressure. Accordingly, if the joint 18 is loosened, the conductive resin A may leak outside from a gap in the joint 18, or the needle member 16 may detach from the syringe 15.
Hence, conventionally, when the needle member 16 is to be attached to the syringe 15, an operation of achieving tight clamping at the joint 18 has been carried out. For example, the needle member 16 is grasped by a tool such as tweezers or pliers, and the syringe 15 is rotated by hand. However, since the needle member 16 is a small component, it is not easy to handle it manually. Further, such a conventional method leaves room for improvement in that the needle member 16 may be deformed by an inadvertent contact with the surrounding object, or an operator may be hurt by a tip of the needle member 16.